Trump on Earth

The Trump administration has been in office for a little over a year, and it’s done a lot to change the federal government’s stance on environmental issues from announcing the US’s withdrawal from the Paris climate agreement, to opening up thousands of miles of U.S. coastline to offshore drilling. So what’s the impact of all these changes?

We all remember the financial and auto bailouts during the Great Recession. They arguably saved significant parts of the economy from even further destruction. The Trump administration says the federal government now needs to step in to prop up the coal and nuclear industries.

First Hurricane Harvey inundated Houston, then Irma unleashed savage winds on the Caribbean and parts of Florida. And then the fires – exacerbated by a severe drought – raging in the Pacific Northwest, choking the skies of Big Sky country. All of these events have links to climate change, scientists say.

You know you can listen to WESA’s local reporting and NPR’s national coverage on the radio at 90.5 FM. But there are also many places to find our journalism in the digital world—you can livestream us when you’re away from the radio, follow our reporters on social media and dig into NPR’s smartphone apps.